Visual Vengeance has been a unique label since its inception, releasing a handful of obscure shot-on-video treasures. It doesn’t matter if the films are good or bad (definitely in the eye of the beholder); they’re fun in their own way. This month, they’ve gone all out with two new releases, and this article will focus on a film that may be the best-known out of everything they’ve released thus far: Dinosaur Valley Girls (1996).
It is best known in the sense that if you browsed the video store shelves enough, you’d remember the title and box art. If you judge a movie based on its title, you’ll get exactly what you’d expect.
Tony Markham (Jeff Rector) is one of Hollywood’s top action stars, but his ability to create blockbusters isn’t quite as successful as he used to be. After discovering a prehistoric artifact, he’s zipped back in time to where dinosaurs rule and cavemen are ready to draw blood. He stumbles upon a tribe of cavewomen who are sex-starved and like to run around with their tops off.
Despite being a chain smoker, Tony will help them fight off the dangerous cavemen who may have stumbled upon the artifact that can zap him back to his own time. The question remains: will he really want to after finding the girl of his dreams in tribe leader Hea-Thor (Denise Ames)?
As sex-starved as these cavewomen may be, there’s very little sex in the movie. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of skin on display along with the childish humor, claymation dinosaurs, and other cheap effects. Jeff Rector is a lucky man, starring alongside some really gorgeous actresses who, in the film, only speak in a cave language that reminded me a bit of the Ringo Starr-led film Caveman (1981).
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There are a couple of cool cameos, including William Marshall and Forrest J. Ackerman, references to the Three Stooges, and even a dance scene. Writer/director Donald F. Glut doesn’t take the material seriously and just sets out to have a little fun, and he accomplishes this. The remastered SD transfer from the original tape elements looks terrific—probably the best it will ever look.
The Visual Vengeance edition is stacked with new and old special features like a new commentary (2023) from Glut and C. Courtney Joyner, an archival commentary, an interview with Glut, a look at Glut’s home dinosaur museum, making of, a PG-13 cut of the film, deleted and alternate scenes, actress auditions, music video reels, storyboards, and more. There’s always fantastic packaging with a limited-slip, insert, stickers, and a mini poster.
As ridiculous as the film is, it’s impossible not to have fun with it, so just enjoy how silly it is and have a good time.
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